In the end zone, the man his teammates call Mighty Mouse jumped to his feet and blew kisses to the Giants Stadium crowd.
Then Tiki Barber disappeared into a sea of hugs and high fives from his Big Blue brethren, celebrating what they deemed a perfect finish to a most imperfect season. Barber’s 3-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds left, which sparked the kisses and the celebration, gave the Giants a season-ending 28-24 victory over the Cowboys last night here at Giants Stadium.
But the last offensive snap of this sad season also delivered one of its biggest highlights. The gain pushed Barber to a new franchise-record of 1,518 rushing yards for the season, two better than Joe Morris’ 1986 total.
An hour earlier, on the last play of the third quarter, Barber passed Rodney Hampton for first on the team’s all-time rushing list. Besides the touchdown, he finished the evening with 24 carries and 95 yards, giving him 6,927 in his eight-year Giants career. He also caught three passes for 21 yards and a score.
“It’s fulfilling,” Barber said of setting the mark. “It justifies all I’ve done in the offseason to try to correct my problems and faults.”
Slighted for his size – he stands 5-foot-10 and needs his pads to reach 200 pounds – since he arrived as a second-round draft pick from the University of Virginia, Barber took another dose of criticism after struggling last season.
But he spent the spring and summer re-dedicating himself to becoming one of the league’s best backs.
“This is fitting,” said Tom Coughlin, who celebrated the TD with a fist pump that spun him 180 degrees. “He made up his mind that despite all the things that were being said about him, his skills were still there. He’s been a great inspiration to his teammates.”
At the team’s pregame meal yesterday, center Shaun O’Hara, whom Barber credited for his role in the records, joked with Barber about “a storybook ending” to the quest.
So with 16 seconds left and no timeouts remaining for the Giants, O’Hara chuckled when rookie quarterback Eli Manning audibled into a run play from the 3-yard line.
“I saw the linebacker standing there on the goal line,” O’Hara said. “And I knew there was no way he was going to stop Tiki. I’m just so happy he was able to get the records.”